Weekly Newsletter

No, You Cannot “Eat Anything Off Anyone’s Property” In Iceland

A camper rental company has made contentions on their website about tourism in Iceland that are untrue, and could land you in legal trouble.

Stundin reports that KúKú Campers is making headlines from controversy once again, and many Icelandic tourism industry workers are less than pleased.

Of particular concern is a statement they made on their website regarding foraging for food in Iceland. The original text reads as follows:

Many of these contentions are false. Article 27 of Iceland’s nature conservation law does allow people to freely pick berries, lichen and mushrooms without a license, but freely picked food is limited to vegetation of this nature, and does not allow for taking such things from someone else’s property. Furthermore, Iceland’s fishing laws are actually very strict when it comes to fishing in rivers – they almost always require the permission of the land owner and the purchase of a permit, which can be fairly expensive.

KúKú Campers have since revised the text to be more in keeping with the law, but this is not the first time the company has landed in hot water for ill-conceived ideas that they later reversed their position on.

In 2014, KúKú Campers instituted a policy of not renting campers to Israelis, on the grounds that the company was protesting Israel’s treatment of Palestine. This practice, it turned out, was in possible violation of numerous Icelandic and international laws.

Related to this, they drew a great deal of criticism the year previous, when they named their low-price season “Jew Season”. Ultimately, public outcry compelled them apologise and change the name.

What is the Reykjavik Grapevine?

Your essential guide to life, travel and entertainment in Iceland.
Iceland's biggest and most widely read tourist publication. Delivers comprehensive content on all of the main topics of discourse in Iceland at each time: in cultural life, politics or general social affairs. A grand, continuously updated database of Iceland's main restaurants, clubs, cafes, shops, museums, tours and tourist attractions as well as a thorough events listing